Ino Yamanaka Sakura Haruno
by DevalosAngel
Summary: Ino is a patient at the hospital a lot. Sakura worries and a severed friendship rests between them. How do they move on from here? A little profanity, barely noticable. Yuri SakuIno


This was in my head. I am going to finish my Code Lyoko story soon for who ever is interested. This is a femslash/yuri girl with girl. Don't like, don't read. I own not the Naruto characters so don't sue please! It was typed up fast and my not be great, but here it is! Excuse the lame title.

Ino Yamanaka-Sakura Haruno

By: Jenafrost

Sakura walk quickly on to her next patient room before her lunch break hoping to get the visit done fast enough to eat before the lunch crowd in the cafeteria came. Upon reaching the room she heard the familiar voice of Shikamaru scolding someone. Immediately before Sakura read the name on the patient chart she had grabbed off the door, she knew who her patient was. She couldn't help but feel happy and sad with this.

"Yamanaka Ino," she sighed, "what have you done this time?" Her jade eyes met baby blue as said patient turned swiftly from her angered team mate to an equally annoyed Sakura. A blush quickly dusted her face as Sakura looked away to read over the chart. "A dislocated shoulder and gash on the left temple? Ino, this is the hundredth time I've seen you in here." Sakura started as she stepped close to the blonde and placed her hands around Ino's face moving it to see the gash. Indeed there was a three inch cut from about her hairline to the top of her cheek and the blood had started to scab. "At least the blood has stopped flowing," the medic mumbled to herself.

"Shikamaru hand me that water basin and cloth," she asked pointing to said items on a table nearby as she reached for her chart. Jotting some notes down she set them down again and took up the cloth soaking it in the water basin Shika had brought over. "So what happened this time?"

Shikamaru spoke first "We finished our latest mission and were almost back to Konoha when miss perfect here lost her chakra balance and collided with a tree. She hit her head pretty hard and fell to the ground landing on her arm and dislocated the shoulder. A troublesome mistake," he finished glaring at his friend. Ino simply kept her eyes down not looking at Sakura. He noticed the blush seemed to increase on the blondes features.

As Sakura finished cleaning the cut and healing it with her chakra, she began speaking to her ex-friend in a condescending tone. "Ino-pig, your so clumsy. Falling out of trees one day, getting skewered with Kunai during missions before that, breaking a leg in training before that, the list goes on for the better part of two years now! You're in here almost every day you're not on a mission! How you don't get killed is beyond me."

Sakura moved to the blonde's shoulder and began messaging it to relax the pain and as she felt the kunoichi muscles do just that, she swiftly popped the shoulder back in place, earning a hiss and moan from the Yamanaka girl. Shika smirked in satisfaction that Ino was feeling pain for her stupid injuries. /Serves her right, just tell the girl you love her and get it over with./ he thought. He and Chouji had figured Ino purposefully injured herself to be near the Haruno girl. He watched as Sakura again began healing the injury with her chakra and Ino's blush darken.

Past

It had been three years since they had ended their friendship over a boy who betrayed the village not long after. Shikamaru remembered how distant Ino became whenever the pink haired kunoichi was not around. Only when they ran into each other and fought together did the life seem to reanimate back into Ino.

When Sasuke left Ino seemed to have a weight lift from her and had even sought out Sakura's presence to try and talk with the girl, but every time backfired and the arguing and insults would resume. Finally after several failed attempts, Shika notice how Ino would stop trying to talk to Sakura and simply watched her. Everywhere they went he would see the young Yamanaka searching and looking everywhere and at every face. Only when she spotted the light pink color of her ex-friends hair would her eyes stop wondering. This carried on for a while. Especially when they walked by the medic buildings. She would scan the entrance and people passing by to see if the other kunoichi was passing by the area during her training with Lady Tsunade.

It was a harmless habit until one day her not paying attention to where she was going ended up with her running into a sign and falling and twisting her ankle. Shikamaru and Chouji had both shook their heads at Ino's aloof nature and the injury she got from it and helped the whimpering girl into the medic building to get a quick fix. Ino was growling in frustration as she sat impatiently on the exam table waiting for a healer nin to show up and mend the sprain. "If you would pay attention to where you were going in the first place, we wouldn't be here," Chouji chided the annoyed blonde as he stuffed more chips in his mouth.

"Oh shut-up pig!" she growled as the door opened to reveal . . .

"Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black eh Ino-Pig?" Sakura chirped as she walked through the door. She felt a feeling of excitement at seeing her long lost friend. She studied the blonde and noted that she had grown into a beautiful kunoichi. Ino who had been about to hit Chouji over the head froze hand raised when she heard that voice. She was stunned that Sakura was her healer, she never thought, though she should have guessed that Sakura might be the one to heal her. She was training here wasn't she?

"Sakura? You treat patients now?" Shika sighed the question.

"Yeah for a couple months now. I'm still training, healing is an ongoing practice, but I do quite well," turning to Ino she smirked, "So how did you come to be my patient?" she asked the girl sitting before her. Ino quickly brought down her hand and blushed before saying, "I dunno."

"Pft!" Chouji said, "She wasn't paying attention because she was looking for y-umph!" anything more was cut off by Ino's hand covering his mouth. Her face now a nice crimson shade.

With menace she muttered at Chouji, "Finish that sentence and DIE!" A throat clearing let Ino remember about the other two in the room. Releasing her teammate and folding her hands in her lap Ino looked down at her hands and refused to look up as Sakura healed her ankle. Sakura had asked her a few questions and got no more than yes or no answers. She tried baiting the younger girl but the blonde would not respond.

With a sigh Sakura finished, "You're done here Miss Yamanaka. You can go," as soon as the words left her mouth, the young blonde was on her feet and out the door. Chouji followed shaking his head and Shikamaru slowly walked towards the door. "She doesn't like me at all anymore does she?" he heard her ask quietly before he reached the door. Sakura had felt a joy she hadn't felt for a while when she learned she was to treat the Yamanaka girl. That joy had dwindle as the visit went on and the girl refused to speak or look at her. Shika didn't know how to respond. He had a feeling it was just the opposite. That Ino did like, no, possibly was in love with her childhood friend, but it wasn't his place to say, "Troublesome," was his only answer to the pink hair girl before he continued out the door.

That was the beginning of a new habit of Ino's. She all of a sudden became clumsy and stubborn. If she wasn't injured during training she was heading blindly into battle on missions fighting strongly but wildly, ending with her completing the mission but coming back needing medical attention. At first Shika and Chouji would accompany their teammate with concern for her injuries, but the more common it happened, no matter how often they warned her to be careful, Ino ending up in the medic bay was just normal, and soon they just made sure she was checked in and left.

Some days she would get some random med nin, but many and most days, she got Sakura to treat her injuries. Every visit with the pink haired kunoichi was the same. Sakura would come in with a greeting and smile only to have Ino look away from her and say nothing. The injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to broken bones and concussions. Sakura always felt added concern as Ino seemed to just put herself in more danger and ignorance every time she treated the beautiful girl.

Beautiful she was. Anyone could see it. Smooth shiny platinum blonde hair, so long and full. Pale smooth skin that only held few scars even with her extensive injury record. The perfect weight and muscle tone hidden by soft silky skin and a well proportioned body and shape. She was gorgeous and the male nurses and patients and even some female ones would often stare at the girl who frequently visited the in patient area. Sakura would walk in many times to see someone try and enter Ino's room to chat up the girl, but she never heard Ino say anything to them or even give them a second look. When she made her presence know, the person would grin sheepishly and excuse themselves.

Sakura often wondered if Ino was mentally all there now-a-days. She was so clumsy and never said a word. Others noticed this too. Shizune had healed Ino a few times when the girl came on her rotation, and never got a peep out of the young blonde. She did notice Ino give some interest when she would see Sakura pass by on her way to another patient. She even approached Sakura on the issue, "Hey Sakura, that Yamanaka Ino girl seems to know you. Do you know anything about her?"

Raising an eyebrow Sakura nodded, "Yeah I know Ino. We were friends once, before something got in the way," Inner Sakura added /yeah, you trading her friendship for some boy/ Shaking her head slightly she continued, "What about her?"

Shizune looked at Ino's medical file she had and read over the notes, "It says here she is in all the time for minor and major injuries. Other staff members who have treated her noted she doesn't respond to anything they do or say. She just sared blankly past them as if looking for something. Does she talk with you?" she asked seriously as she looked into Sakura's eyes.

"No she never talks to me. We used to fight a lot after we ended our friendship. I don't think she likes me all that much. I have seen her with other medics and you. She at least looks at you when you speak. She never looks at me when I treat her," Sakura added softly in a depressed slightly jealous tone.

Shizune shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "I think I'm going to suggest a physic evaluation of her to Tsunade. Maybe she needs some time off or something," she mumbled as she turned to head towards Tsunade office. Curious, Sakura had followed. Tsunade had agreed to test the Yamanaka's mental stability and had the girl followed for three days before the test to observe her actions.

The nin reported that her training sessions would be almost perfect with her team, and then in a moment of stupidity she would fall or collide with something, or forget to dodge a kunai: almost seemed like purposefully. On her off time she would walk around with her team. She would talk to them but her mind seemed elsewhere. Other times she worked in her parent's flower shop, the picture of peace as she crafted fine flower arrangements for customers. She laughed and talked with her family, and finally she would visit the village gardens and sit for hours under the Sakura trees. She seemed pretty normal save for the fact that she rarely smile and laughed except with her family.

Tsunade had called Ino in and had her perform several physic exams to measure her mental stability and ingenuity. The girl she saw was very quiet and reserved. She seemed fine to her but reports from the medic staff said otherwise. She had promised to show Sakura the results as her apprentice requested in concern for her lost friend. At first against it, Tsunade agreed and reported the results as promised. Ino was fine, passed with flying colors. She wasn't crazy, but something was bugging the eighteen year old kunoichi. Not even her teammates knew what was up, or so they said, but it felt that they knew something they weren't about to share.

Present

That was a year ago, Ino was still acting the same. "Ino you have got to be more careful," Sakura spoke as she finished the chakra healing on Ino's shoulder. She hadn't noticed that she had been holding onto the younger girl's hand with her free hand as she was healing her and blushed when she realized what she was doing. She removed her hand from the Yamanaka girl and cleared her throat as she picked up her file to jot down some more notes. "Shikamaru, could I have a moment with Ino," she asked not looking up from the file she wrote in. "Troublesome," he muttered, "She's fine to get home by herself now anyway, later," he said as he left and closed the door behind him.

Sakura put down her file and took Ino's hand in her own again. She sighed as she felt the younger girl stiffen at her touch. She didn't know what possessed her, but she felt she needed to talk to Ino. Every time she saw her in the room waiting to be healed, she felt a part of herself ache inside. To see how the girl constantly got herself in trouble, it hurt Sakura more each time. Ino was her friend, well ex-frie/ , no she was her friend, and she felt Ino needed to know.

"Ino? Look at me? Please?" she asked softly. The blonde made no effort to move to look up at the young medic. "Ino?" Sakura continued as she moved her hand to cup Ino's face and lift it up to see into her eyes. Those baby blue eyes that had always amazed Sakura with their vibrant color, made Sakura choke on her air as she saw fear reflected in them. Great fear. /Does she feel this from me?/ she asked herself. Her heart constricting in pain as that thought entered her mind.

"Ino," she choked out, "Are you afraid of me? Do you hate and fear me?" she whimpered. Her heart ached as she saw the blonde become panicky and her breathing increase. Her eyes darting away from hers looking for a way out it seemed. "Ino . . . Please talk to me!" Sakura urged as tears began to gather in her eyes. Immediately Ino looked back at her.

She faced Sakura just in time to see a crystal tear escape from the older girl's eye. And Ino stopped breathing. And just as quickly she shook her head vigorously no and her fingers moved to brush away the tear. Sakura felt a spark at the blonde's gentle touch and watched as the blonde brought her finger with her tear to eye level and studied it as it fell down her finger into her palm. The blonde looked up and saw another fall, the panicked expression returning and the blonde pushing her away. Sakura fell back to the floor and watched as Ino ran out of the room.

"Ino, it hurts. It hurts not being with you," Sakura whispered to herself. At that moment Sakura knew what that joy was whenever she saw her childhood friend waiting for her in a patient room meant and the pain that came with it when she remembered why the girl was there. Sakura was in love with her once friend. When it started? Probably when they first met. Ino always held a place in her heart, even when Sakura pushed her away with her feelings for Sasuke. She felt an emptiness fill with love whenever she saw her, and pain when she saw the damage she would do to herself ending in the medic wing. She felt the emptiness return whenever the blonde would leave after a healing, and her heart would ache to see her again soon, though hope not injured and every time that's exactly how she would see her next. /Ino, what can I do to get you back? Even as a friend, though I want so much more./ she thought as she picked herself up and readied herself to see other patients.

Two days Later

The hospital wing was quiet as the hour of the night was late and all but the nurses and medics on hand were sleeping. Sakura sat at her desk going over her latest report she was to present to Tsunade. She sighed setting it down and thinking of how Ino had eluded her before leaving on a mission to the mist country for retrieval of an ambassador. They had kidnapped one of Suna's high officials and planned on using him to interrogate information. Shikamaru's team was to meet up with Temari and Kankuro from Suna and proceed to the Mist to recovering the kidnapped official before he gave out vital information. It was five ninja which bettered their odds of success and safety, but some feeling just kept nagging at her.

Rapid footsteps where heard in the halls and a messenger nin slid into Sakura's office. "Haruno-san team nine has returned. Two members of the mission were injured. One is severally hemorrhaging internally and their chakra is spiking to unsafe levels uncontrolled. Lady Tsunade requires your assistance in emergency room B!" he exclaimed as Sakura shot up and out the door. He was running beside her to also help. Sakura felt that she couldn't get to the room fast enough. /Ino! Ino you clumsy fool. God you better be alright!/ As she entered the ward Shizune stopped her, "I'm helping Lady Tsunade with the intensive care patient! You go help the other!" she pointed to the room off to the side where the less dire victim must have been placed.

"But I need to"

"Go Sakura we got this!" she shouted as she made her way into the critical patient room.

Sakura felt her heart sink as she thought that Ino could be dying on the other side of those doors. Fighting the choking feeling in the back of her throat, Sakura took a deep breath and headed into the other patient room. There lying on the cot was "Ino!" Sakura yelled running to the bedside and gazing at the other girls face. "Ino?" she asked as she didn't get a response. Grabbing the chart from the nurse who came in she saw that Ino had exhausted her chakra and suffered a mild concussion, thus the sleeping. "God Ino," Sakura sighed in relief, as she began the chakra flow to heal the concussion. "What am I going to do with you?"

The nurse shifted behind her and asked "Do you need any help Miss Haruno?" Not taking her eyes off the peaceful expression on Ino's face, she shook her head, "No go help the others." With that the nurse left the two in the room. As she continued to heal her, Sakura started to cry, and continued after she finished and held one of Ino's hands bringing it to her lips and kissing the fingertips softly so as not to wake the girl. A burst of emotion and Sakura's cries got louder.

"Saku . . . . Don't cry please . . . Not because of . . . of me . ." Ino's voice cracked as she awoke to Sakura's cries.

"I-Ino?" Sakura looked up to meet the blue eyes of Yamanaka Ino and heard the most angelic voice she had missed so much. Ino continued, "I tried to just like you said. I'm sorry, I tried to not get hurt. I didn't plan this one . . ." she said weakly.

Sakura looked confused, tears still traveled down her face as she responded, "Planned? Planned the injury?" Ino nodded. "Wait, all those other times, you , you got hurt on purpose? You purposely injured yourself?" at Ino's blush and nod Sakura yelled demandingly as the wiped the tears from her eyes, "Why?! Why the hell would you do such a stupid irresponsible thing?! Tell me Yamanaka! What so damn important that you have to injury yourself?! Tell me now!" she ended with fury. She gazed into eyes so angelic blue and filled with that fear from before and a sudden resolve.

Tears soon threaten to fall from those light blue orbs and Ino answered, "You."

Shocked to be of any reason to cause the girl to injure herself Sakura choked and asked, "What?"

Closing her eyes and breathing deeply to gather her words Ino continued. "For you." Opening her eyes Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she saw a guarded emotion revealed. Ino loved her. Ino Yamanaka loved her, Sakura Haruno. "I just wanted to talk to you, to see you, to be near you. I didn't know how to reach you. We always fought, I couldn't get to you, except as a patient. I, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry, to, to ask . . . But I never could speak when I finally . . . I needed another chance and another and another, I just knew that one day I could, could tell you," she said. Sakura tightened her hand around the blondes.

Ino studied her for a reaction. Sakura wasn't rejecting her, she just had to finish or the words would never be spoken. "I-I love you Sakura. I think I always have," she saw Sakura shake her head in disbelief but pressed on, "Do you know how beautiful you are?" Ino sat up and faced Sakura. She now sat on the low cot, legs hanging over the edge, eye level with Sakura who was on her knees beside the girls bed. "You are so beautiful," Ino whispered reaching for Sakura's light pink locks, which she had grown out again, and took a strand of the soft hair between her fingers and letting it slip through and fall away. "I've missed your eyes but never felt worthy to look in them. Such beautiful deep green eyes, and I miss holding you close in those brief hugs we shared as children. Just to feel your heart beat next to my own. I miss your smile, your laugh, your voice, your presence. I've missed it all. I've missed you. I didn't think my coming into the medic ward would upset you so. When you cried the last time, when I ran out on you, it was because I caused you to cry. I always hurt when you cried and never wanted to be the reason."

"Ino," Sakura tried to speak.

"Please I know you can't love me as I do you, but please, be my friend? Be my friend and I promise, to never make you cry again." Ino pleaded.

Sakura shook her head violently no, causing Ino's body to tremble, but before she broke completely thinking Sakura rejected her feelings, the older medic nin pulled her in close hugging her tightly to herself and running her hand through the long blonde locks, Sakura answered, "I love you Ino. I love you . . . as a friend and so much more." she whispered. Ino sobbed as those words reached her ears. Her arms moved to embrace her friend at last feeling total happiness fill her heart.

Shikamaru had come to tell them that Chouji was stabilized from using those dam strength pills again and that Tsunade said her would recover in a few days when he saw the two girls and heard their confessions. "Troublesome," he said as he smirked at the two girls, oblivious to all around them. One last look and he left with out telling them. They would find out eventually anyway.

Five months later

Tsunade and Shizune were walking to the cafeteria when they saw a familiar face coming towards them. Well familiar except for a few things. Ino Yamanaka smiled brightly as she approached the two women and stopped before them. Good afternoon Hokage-sama, Shizune-san, how are you?" she greeting merrily.

Stumped and not sure if this was the right girl, Shizune asked, "Ino, Ino Yamanaka?" with Ino's giggle and a nod Tsunade added, "Are you hurt? Head injury?"

Shocked Ino shook her head, "What? No! I'm fine. It's a great day yeah?" her smile returned.

Shrugging Tsunade answered, "Huh yeah, great day." Suddenly a pink blur whizzed past her and Shizune.

"Ino!" Sakura glomped the girl out of nowhere surprising and unbalancing the two older women in their presence.

"Saku! I missed you and wanted to stop and eat lunch with you." Ino replied happily. They looked and sounded like kids instead of nineteen year olds. They had never seen Sakura smile so bright. Sakura pulled back and lightly kissed Ino upon her lips and frown slightly.

"I can't, I have like three patients I have to see. I can't stop for more than a snack." Ino's face saddened as did Sakura's. Tsunade and Shizune, though stunned at the fact that this was the same depressed girl from not too long ago and that she and Sakura appeared to be in a relationship, looked to each other and thought the same thing, "Aww".

"Listen, Sakura, me and Shizune can check up the patients" she looked to Shizune who nodded in agreement. We have a clear schedule today actually, you want the afternoon off?" she asked.

Both girls looked to them with appreciation, "Really Hokage-sama, Shizune-san? You mean it?"

"Yeah why don't you go relax with your girlfriend" Shizune added and watched in amusement as both girls blushed.

"Oh thank you both" Ino bowed in thanks and Sakura quickly followed in example. "Come on Saku I want to take you to this great little restau. . . ." Tsunade and Shizune watched as the two made their way to the exit hand in hand.

"Wow, so that's why Ino was always here, she missed Sakura," Shizune said

"Stalker" Tsunade deadpanned. Shizune elbowed her in the ribs.

"It was out of love," Shizune responded, "She didn't know how to express it."

"Eh, at least she's a cute stalker." Tsunade shrugged. Another elbow to the ribs and she smiled at Shizune, her eyes serious. "They look great together, very happy, no?" She asked Shizune as they headed to meet some patients.

"Yeah looks like they found a part of themselves they had been missing. Love," Shizune smiled.

End


End file.
